Egypt ‘free of ISIS': interior ministry

A member loyal to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) waves an ISIL flag - REUTERS

By AYA SAMIR

CAIRO: There is no presence of the Islamic State in Egypt, official spokes person for the ministry of interior Hany Abdel Latif told the Okaz Saudi newspaper Saturday.

Abdel Latif said such “rumors”are”psychological warfare” to frighten Egyptian citizens, and insinuate that the Muslim brotherhood is still present in Egyptian streets.

Abdel Latif said that all terrorist groups that appeared recently including IS, al-Nusra Front, Ansar al-Sharia or Helwan Brigades “are only part of two international organizations:the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda.”

“The threats that we are facing now on the Egyptian borders comes as a result due to the conflicts inside some of our neighboring countries including Libya, Iraq, Syria and Sudan. Egypt is stable in comparison with what’s happening in the rest of the region.”

Libya has faced unrest since its revolution in 2011, but the situation has recently worsened; militias from different parties and backgrounds started to fight to control different parts of the state including airports, and diplomatic relations with Egypt have soured.

Former assistant defense minister, and former director of the Research and Strategic Studies Center of the Armed Forces, Major General Hossam Sweilm told The Cairo Post in previous statements that Ansar al-Sharia, which is based in Benghazi, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis or any other terrorist groups are only claiming to have different ideologies.

” All of them are using religion to come to power. ISIS was part of Al-Qaeda before they disband to control Syria and Iraq. The differences are not just about names, but about authoritarian interests. Each one of them wants to control different part of the world,” he said.

Youm7 reported Saturday that police forces in Dakahlia arrested a person who was returning from training with the Islamic State, and had in his possession a laptop with data proving he had travelled to Syria to train with militia fighter.

Military strategist Major General Nabil Fouad, told the Cairo post that The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is all about Syria and Iraq, and there is no way that it can do anything to Egypt for many reasons, “it’s unthinkable”.

“Syria and Iraq have a common ground borders, therefore they were able to remove it, but Egypt is a different case As we don’t have any common border with them, all what they can do is to be involved in any terrorist operations may happen inside the country. We have a very powerful military,” he added.